I'm not really sure what's going on with me on this trip but I haven't been sleeping. At first I thought it was cause my phone was going off in the middle of the night, then I thought it was cause I had been drinking, but now I'm not sure. I didn't get to bed until 2am, barely keeping my eyes open to write my post. The funny part is that I started this blog as a way of keeping track of my travels and to avoid having to rehash the same dozen stories to my friends, family, and coworkers, but now all it seems to do is keep me up at night!
I awoke at 7am. The sun was shining through the window in my room and I immediately regretted not pulling the shades closed the night before. By 10am I was finally dressed, packed up, and walking out the door. There were a couple of things left on my list to do - 1) get breakfast 2) get good coffee 3) go to the beach. I figured if I was well fed and well caffeinated then I could relax on the beach and figure out what to do next.
I walked further away from the city center, deeper into the burbs. The shops were the usual pizza, Chinese, random business places but the buildings themselves were such a mishmash of different architecture styles. There were old western looking buildings and modern ones and ones from the late 50s. I couldn't believe my eyes but I was a woman on a mission to eat breakfast. I had found a place via FourSquare called "Dead Man Espresso" that was supposed to have a good breakfast menu and a tasty espresso. The reviews did not disappoint. The only downside to the place was siting around like a jerk for 10 minutes waiting for someone to eventually come around and give me a menu slash take my order. The latte I had was so good I wanted to cry. The rest of the breakfast was solid but greasy for no apparent reason - the outside of the bun was so slick I could even hold it!
Post breakfast I walked back up to the Main Street and further away from the city. Next on my list was St. Kilda beach despite the breezy cool air and clouds. I refilled my myki and hopped the tram. Soon I was transported to a tropical paradise. Palm trees lined the street and as I walked over the hill I could see a magnificent park in front of me. I knew the beach wasn't much further then the park but I certainly didn't expect it to be right on the edge of it. The sandy part of the beach was barely a landing strip but a peak up and down the road showed it opened up into a few larger areas of sand and surf. To the north was a herd of kites and a few kite surfers. To the south was St Kilda pier which is where I was headed next.
I got to the pier and started walking down it. At the end was a small gothic building that houses a restaurant but I couldn't figure out why there were so many people headed down the pier. I got about a third of the way down and turned around to continue walking along the beach. I got most of the way back when I remembered why there were so many people walking down the pier - little penguins lived at the end of it!
Personally, I think the penguins are a curse on me. Yesterday I had gone to the penguin parade on Phillips Island and it poured rain almost the entire day up until I actually saw the penguins. Today the same exact thing happened. When I realized there were penguins at the end of the pier I turned around to head down and see them. I made it to the half way point when all of a sudden the skies opened up and buckets of sideways rain fell from it. I stood behind one of the small shelters at the half way point and grabbed the poncho from my bag. I had packed it along with an extra t-shirt, my sweater, a scarf, and my bathing suit just in case. Soon the brilliant yellow plastic enveloped my body, backpack, and camera. The plastic was snapping and flapping as the wind blew harder and the rain fell faster. It didn't matter though because my $8 poncho was keeping me nice and dry. I continued my walk down the pier, head down as the cold rain and wind pelted my body. Finally I made it to the end of the pier and sure enough as soon as I entered the penguin area the rain stopped. It was still pretty early in the day so I wasn't expecting to see any of them but thankfully an old man who was a volunteer guide pointed out a chick hiding under the rock next to the walking path.
I made my way back and passed some more time walking down the boardwalk, sticking my toes in the sand, and feeling the frigid ocean waves lap up to my ankles. I don't know what I expected but I definitely didn't expect it to be NY in the middle of winter cold. I spent some time sitting on a bench in the park watching the families play catch and the clouds roll in and out of the sky before hopping back on the tram to get to the Shrine of Remembrance.
I wound up going a stop too far and ended up at the Police Memorial on the other end of the park instead. It was still nice enough out that I didn't mind the walk through the park. Along the way were memorials and sculptures to remember all the countries and battles the Australians fought beside/in. The thought and levels of meaning behind each one was immense. Finally I came upon the Shrine of Remembrance. The giant pyramid rose up above the tree line and came into view through the trees and gardens like a hulking figure in the middle of the bucolic park.
I walked through the entire thing, stopping to read about the part Australia had in every war since World War I. What amazed me was the sense of duty the Australians had to the U.K. even though they were a colony and the continued support they provided after independence slash becoming a commonwealth. After the museum portion was the crypt where the flags from every battalion are raised. It was a very solemn display with a statue of two soldiers back to back - one form ww1 and the other from ww2 titled "Father and Son."
After peaking in on that room it was a long climb to the next part of the Shrine - another small stone room with a plaque in the center. Every half our a light passes over the plaque and some words of remembrance are spoken over the PA then poppies (the flower symbolizing Australian soldiers) are laid on the plaque. I got there just as the ceremony began. It reminded me a little bit of the Pearl Harbor memorial in Hawaii, beautifully sad. From there it was about 8 flights of stairs to get to the final area, a balcony that went around the entire pyramid and gave you a view of the whole park and city. There were more smaller memorials at each side of the pyramid and beyond the park the entire city rose above the trees and manicured gardens.
From the top of the pyramid I tried to think of what to do next. There was no sense in going to the sky deck and paying for the same view I just had. It was also starting to get late and the sun, while still very strong and warm, was starting to fade. I looked at the clock and decided it was a good time to think about dinner. A quick search on foursquare showed me a number of ethnic restaurants nearby or on my way back to the hostel but then one of subtitles under the listings caught my eye - Australian. An Australian restaurant with a 9.2 rating? I was all over it, never mind the three dollar signs next to it.
Once I figured out where I needed to go I hopped on the tram again and made my way there. The restaurant was on the waterfront too which was perfect since that was also on my list of things I wanted to do. Walking along the Yarra River reminded me so much of the San Antonio Riverwalk but it was infinitely better. Instead of being some dinky concrete next to a small, dirty, river surrounded by tourist traps and terrible chain restaurants, the south bank of the Yarra River was decadent and manicured with fancy specialty restaurants. It was like if you took the Thames in London, the concept of San Antonio Riverwalk, and the decadence of the Las Vegas strip and plopped it down in the middle of the city.
I was really enjoying my walk along the river but I was also getting hungry. Soon enough I was at the restaurant - Pure South Dining - but there were two versions of the restaurant! One was a super fancy place and the other was the pub version of the super fancy restaurant. I considered just going to the pub but one look around at the crowd and I knew it would be more of the loud, obnoxious tourists I had been dealing with all day. Speaking of, as a native New Yorker I've dealt with my fair share of tourists. More then most. Maybe it's because I've been doing some pretty touristy things but the other visitors to Melbourne are just straight up obnoxious - even the other Australians!
Anyway. I wanted nothing to do with the crowd in the pub part of Pure South. I also wanted to eat wallaby. After seeing how cute they were the day before and my allure to exotic meats (reindeer in Norway, moose in Estonia, octopus in Japan) I just couldn't resist. I'm so glad I didn't too!
I quickly changed out of my tank top to the tshirt I had been carrying in my bag, it was literally the least I could do as I saw how under dressed I was compared to my surroundings. It didn't seem to matter as I was the only patron there and the host didn't bat an eyelash at my attire (although as other people arrived later in the night dressed to the nines I was glad I came early to avoid sticking out like a sore thumb). I was seated at basically the best table in the restaurant - it overlooked the city as well as the promenade including the shows that were on going through the floor to ceiling windows.
I had studied the menu extensively outside. I knew I wanted the wallaby but now that I was sitting in such a luxurious atmosphere the chef's table menu called to me. Six dishes from the best of the Tasmanian dishes on the menu for $115. After confirming that the wallaby was part of the tasting menu I knew I had to choose it. I was so happy with what I got. Oysters that tasted like no oyster I had ever had before in my life (and I've had quite a few), delicious asparagus, a short rib style grass fed steak, even creme brûlée which I normally hate but could've licked the dish afterwards if there was anything left in it. Besides the dessert the best dish was hands down the wallaby. It was a little tough but so flavorful. The mojito was the best mojito I've ever had in my life.
I didn't think twice about paying so much for such an amazing meal. Considering a cheeseburger at McDonald's here is $6 it really didn't seem all that bad. On the walk home I stopped to watch some performers and even peeked my head into the casino, making a mental note to consider returning to it before I leave.
I made my way back to the hostel, where I witnessed an interaction between some of the guests that eluded to the hostel bar being where it's at. I told myself I'd have to check it out tonight, which I'm pretty sure is the only reason I was able to finish this post. I got back to the room and unpacked my bag, made small chat with my new roommate, and laid in bed for a bit. I almost went to sleep except the thumping bass from the bar on the ground floor reminded me of my promise to pay the bar a visit tonight.
So here I am. Sitting at a table sipping a cider and watching as it slowly gets later and more people funnel in. When I first got down here there was about a dozen people, one was even sleeping on one of the couches. An hour later and there's maybe 25 people now but for the night before New Years it's definitely not shabby.
Now all that's left is figuring out what Bren and I are going to do for New Years. He doesn't have any ideas and so far all I have are the backup plan of coming here to the hostel bar and then the backup to the backup which is staying in and just drinking in the apartment he's house sitting. As usual it's time for me to get to planning!
Location:City Road,Southbank,Australia
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